10 Years Ago This Weekend, Deadly Tornado Ripped Through Utica, Ill.
Jeremy Thorsen had just left the Milestone Tap when he saw a tornado hit the building.
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Jeremy Thorsen had just left the Milestone Tap when he saw a tornado hit the building.
With a long, harsh winter finally over, residents in downstate Washington have resumed the rebuilding process in earnest, nearly five months after the town was devastated by a tornado.
In addition to more than 1,000 homes destroyed or severely damaged by the Nov. 17 twister in Washington, about 1,000 trees were ripped out.
The Cass County emergency manager reported the tornado just before 3 p.m. Thursday near the town of Arenzville. That's about 50 miles west of Springfield.
When a powerful tornado ripped through downstate Washington in November, Joe Ranallo set out to raise $10,000 as part of a class project to help provide some measure of relief to the victims – a goal he surpassed, and then some.
Grammy-winners Chicago will play a free benefit concert later this month to raise money for tornado recovery efforts in Illinois.
Crews were out Christmas Eve, and they were back at it the day after Christmas, clearing away debris from the tornado almost six weeks ago.
A group of students in downstate Washington have created a set of "Washington Strong" wristbands, as part of an effort to support survivors of last month's tornado.
Three Peoria men are in custody after investigators say they were looting a tornado-damaged home in the central Illinois community of Washington.
A group from the village of Lombard is heading southwest tomorrow morning - with loads of tools and supplies to help the people of Washington, Illinois, rebuild after the tornado, reports WBBM's Steve Miller.
Authorities say this week's benefit concert for Illinois tornado victims has raised about $300,000 for relief efforts.
More than a dozen Chicago Bears headed to central Illinois to help with cleanup efforts in the tornado-ravaged community of Washington and meet with members of the community's high school football team.
The town of Washington, Ill. is looking for help with the cleanup after a tornado devastated much of the town two weeks ago.
The latest victim is 82-year-old Rosamund Allison, who sustained injuries in the Nov. 17 tornado.
The Crossroads United Methodist Church near Peoria became a huge banquet hall, serving more than a thousand Thanksgiving meals to people whose last 10 days have been kind of a blur.
The announcement came one day after Gov. Pat Quinn submitted his request for tornado relief for the affected counties, where more than 1,000 homes remain uninhabitable.
In the last nine days, residents of downstate Washington have faced challenges they never imagined, in the wake of a devastating tornado.
The state is trying to prevent Illinois tornado victims from becoming victims of scam artist contractors.
Washington Ald. Tyler Gee said the weather means real reconstruction will be delayed for hundreds of families.
CBS 2's Susanna Song reports one big donation is giving Washington residents a new spring in their steps.
Many residents in downstate Washington were getting their first chance to return to what's left of their homes on Friday, five days after a violent tornado ripped much of the small town to shreds.
For the first time since the deadly tornadoes hit Illinois on Sunday, federal emergency management officials were on the ground in Washington on Thursday to survey the damage.
Federal officials will be meeting with state and local authorities in downstate Washington on Thursday to begin evaluating the damage caused to homes and businesses on Sunday, when tornadoes devastated the small town and other parts of central Illinois.
Surveillance video outside a store in Diamond, Ill. shows a tornado blowing a house away in an instant.
The weather service estimates winds of up to 135 miles an hour hit Manhattan and Frankfort. Three days after that terrible tornado those communities are beginning to bounce back.
Cook County prosecutors on Monday are expected to offer a plea deal to Keshia Golden, a woman charged with killing her boyfriend in 2022, which she has said was self-defense.
President Trump said tariffs on Canadian automotive and steel imports will rise to 50% on January 1, 2027, in a social media post.
After losing one of the closest House races in the country, Democrat Christina Bohannan is campaigning earlier and deeper into rural Iowa, including counties she did not visit before the 2024 election.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said Monday that there was "no apology necessary" on her part over a heated text exchange with former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin recently.
Almost two weeks since power was knocked out in Northwest Indiana, tens of thousands of people were still in the dark on Monday morning.
President Trump said tariffs on Canadian automotive and steel imports will rise to 50% on January 1, 2027, in a social media post.
After losing one of the closest House races in the country, Democrat Christina Bohannan is campaigning earlier and deeper into rural Iowa, including counties she did not visit before the 2024 election.
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said Monday that there was "no apology necessary" on her part over a heated text exchange with former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin recently.
Researchers and disability rights advocates warn that the dismantling of the Education Department and its erosions of civil rights oversight risk widening the disparities autistic children face.
An expert blames Illinois lawmakers and "internecine political problems" for the failure to seal a deal for a new stadium within the state for the Chicago Bears.
Cook County homeowners are again facing a sharper increase in property taxes this year than businesses, the Office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced Monday.
Contracted linemen from out of state sat idle in a Griffith church parking lot for hours without work orders from NIPSCO, as residents in Northwest Indiana approach two weeks without power.
A law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against NIPSCO, alleging the utility's failure to manage trees and vegetation has left thousands of Northwest Indiana residents without power for up to two weeks.
Dozens of cases of E. coli and salmonella in multiple states are linked to an alfalfa grower in Minnesota, health officials say.
A new Illinois law signed by Gov. Pritzker offers up to $1,000 to eligible homeowners hit by storm damage, but the money won't be available until next year — and the program only covers certain areas of Chicago.
Dozens of cases of E. coli and salmonella in multiple states are linked to an alfalfa grower in Minnesota, health officials say.
Moderna and Merck announced study results that reflect a "landmark moment" in treatment for one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
Researchers from the University of Chicago have uncovered some information on how space travel affects — or actually doesn't affect — the heart.
As people age, it becomes crucial to do whatever possible to protect from issues like memory loss. But leading neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter said the process actually starts well before advanced age.
The Illinois Department of Public Health is not adopting new federal child vaccine guidelines and will continue following recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
An expert blames Illinois lawmakers and "internecine political problems" for the failure to seal a deal for a new stadium within the state for the Chicago Bears.
Real estate investment and development firm Concord Capital has acquired nine apartment buildings on Elaine Place, a single-block residential street in Chicago's East Lakeview community.
The Chicago Plan Commission voted Thursday to approve a plan to redevelop Ford City Mall into an industrial complex, despite objections from some neighbors.
A new Barnes & Noble bookstore opened in the heart of downtown Chicago on Wednesday, while separately, a building that used to house an old Barnes & Noble store in the Gold Coast was being demolished.
The Original Rainbow Cone celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sunday with a special event at its Beverly location.
Madonna leads all artists with 11 nominations at this year's MTV VMAs, and a full sweep would tie her with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift for the most VMA wins in history.
Hayden Panettiere, who starred in "Remember the Titans" as a child actor and rose to fame in the series "Heroes," has died at the age of 36. The coroner's office says she was found in cardiac arrest.
Buddy Guy was honored with the Chicago Music Legend Award at the Obama Presidential Center's Chicago Culture Ball this weekend.
Bal Khabra is the author of the four-part series "Off the Ice," a college hockey romance collection that is wrapping up at just the right time.
Crews need about a week and a half to tear down the festival site before the city can begin its own inspection — and past cleanup costs have topped $1 million.
A young pilot is making headlines for executing an incredible water landing in the Atlantic Ocean, narrowly missing a crowded beach in Boca Raton, Florida.
Meteorologist Kylee Miller has your 11 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.
President Trump said in a social media post on Monday that the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian automotive and steel imports, effective Jan. 1, 2027, after trade talks between the two nations collapsed.
Cook County prosecutors on Monday are expected to offer a plea deal to Keshia Golden, a woman charged with killing her boyfriend in 2022, which she has said was self-defense.
The theme for the first day at the school in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood was Poe Classical University, with a focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the importance of a college education. Darius Johnson reports.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is calling for an investigation of NIPSCO's response to the widespread outages from this month's storms.
Grayson, 32, was found guilty last October of second-degree murder for the shooting of Sonya Massey and was serving a 20-year sentence.
A report of a possible kidnapping in Rosemont, Illinois, turned out to involve a missing child from Chicago who made false claims, police in the northwest Chicago suburb said Monday morning.
Monday marked the first day of class for more than 300,000 Chicago Public Schools students, but uncertainty remains about CPS' funding for the 2026-2027 school year.
Cook County prosecutors on Monday are expected to offer a plea deal to Keshia Golden, a woman charged with killing her boyfriend in 2022, which she has said was self-defense.
She was counting down the days to the first day of 5th grade until her school district told her she didn't have a spot there. Now, a federal judge has ordered the district to put the 10-year-old girl with autism back in her neighborhood school.
Who you gonna call if someone locks you out of your own charity? That's the question members of a Ghostbusters-themed nonprofit say they're asking.
Residents of Ogleby Towers on Wednesday morning spoke out about the system that constantly changes their rent, which they say makes it hard to budget.
CEO of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, Harley Johnson, gave CBS News Chicago an exclusive look inside the new park in South Chicago.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation last inspected South Chicago Chapel funeral home in October, 10 months before 56 decomposing bodies were found there.
The WNBA has been the subject of recent debates on whether transgender women should be allowed to participate in the league.
Senior defensive back Mark Johnson signed up to be on the national bone marrow registry, and when he got the call, he came through.
The Sky were eliminated from the playoff race with the loss and a win by Washington on Sunday night.
Cubs blew out the Seattle Mariners 19-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
It was Peters' third walk-off hit of the season.
At least four people were killed, and 17 more were injured, in weekend shootings across Chicago as of Sunday, according to police.
Chicago police this weekend issued a warning about a string of armed robberies in the city's Bronzeville community.
Illinois State Police and the FBI announced this weekend that they may have a new lead, though not a suspect, in the 1992 murder of college student Tammy Zywicki.
Chicago police were investigating early Sunday after a man was slashed to death the night before in Washington Park.
A man was shot and killed Saturday night while sitting in a sport-utility vehicle in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.
